Portable brazier with cleaning means

ABSTRACT

A portable brazier for cooking and barbequing foods. One embodiment of the invention provides a leg-supported bowl provided with a rotatable apertured tray dividing the bowl into upper and lower compartments and adapted to retain the burning coals below a top grill holding the food to be cooked. A scraper blade depends from the tray and is adapted to rotate with the tray for scraping ashes and other residue from the bowl bottom wall into an opening leading to a removable trap. Another embodiment provides a fixed blade with a bowl adapted to turn relative to the blade. A trap in the bowl receives the ashes and other residue scraped from the bowl.

United States A Patent Dorian [54] PORTABLE BRAZIER WITH CLEANING 21Appl. No.: 1 10,718

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.59,423, July 30,

51 Int. Cl. ..A47j 37 00, F24b 3/00 [58] Field of Search ..126/25 R, 25A, 25 B, 25 c,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,740,395 4/1956 Goodwin 126/25 A [451 June 6,1972

Blotsky, Jr. ..126/25 C Primary ExaminerCharles J. Myhre Attorney-Flehr,Hohbach, Test, Albritton & Herbert ABSIRACT A portable brazier forcooking and barbequing foods. One embodiment of the invention provides aleg-supported bowl provided with a rotatable apertured tray dividing thebowl into upper and lower compartments and adapted to retain the burningcoals below a top grill holding the food to be cooked. A scraper bladedepends from the tray and is adapted to rotate with the tray forscraping ashes and other residue from the bowl bottom wall into anopening leading to a removable trap. Another embodiment provides a fixedblade with a bowl adapted to turn relative to the blade. A trap in thebowl receives the ashes and other residue scraped from the bowl.

15 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PORTABLE BRAZIER WITH CLEANING MEANSCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 59,423 filed July 30, 1970by the present applicant.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to portable braziersfor cooking and barbequing foods. Conventional braziers provide a bowlfor containing the burning fuels, such as charcoal coals or briquets,with a rotatable and vertically adjustable grill for holding the foodsin spaced relationship above the coals. A difficult cleaning problemarises if the coals are placed in direct contact with the bottom surfaceof the bowl. The ashes from the coals together with food particles andgrease which fall through the grill onto the bowl surface create aresidue which, after repeated usage, must be cleaned by removing thegrill, scraping the bowl surface, and upending the bowl to dump out theresidue. This cleaning process is troublesome, inconvenient and anundesirable task. Furthermore, where the coals are placed in directcontact with the bowl surface, air circulation is limited so that arelatively long time is required for burning the coals, and the cookingtime is increased. To counter this problem it is known to provide alayer of volcanic rock or the like against the bowl surface with thecoals or briquets placed above this rock. The rock protects the bowlsurface from the intense heat of the burning coals and at the same timeincreases air circulation for more rapid burning. However, the ash andgrease residue which develops after repeated use fouls the volcanic rockwhich must eventually be discarded and replaced. Accordingly, the needhas been recognized for a brazier of the type described whichfacilitates cleaning the bow], and which provides improved burning ofthe fuel for more rapid cooking.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is a general object of theinvention to provide an improved brazier for cooking and barbequingfoods and the like.

Another object is to provide a portable brazier of the type describedincorporating means adapted to efficiently clean the ash, grease andother residue from the bottom surface of the bowl.

Another object is to provide an improved brazier of the type describedaffording improved. air circulation for more rapid and complete burningof the coals.

'Another object is to provide an improved brazier of the type describedincorporating a tray adapted to retain the coals either with or withouta layer of insulating rock and with means for scraping the ash andgrease residue from the bottom of the bowl into a removable trap.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are provided in theinvention by a brazier comprising a bowl divided into upper and lowercompartments by means of an apertured tray spaced below a top grillwhich holds the food to be cooked. The tray supports the burning fuelwith or without an underlying layer of rock. Ashes and grease or foodresidue drop through the tray into the lower compartment and onto thebottom wall of the bowl. In one embodiment the bowl is fixed and ascraper blade is mounted below the tray to scrape across the bottom wallas the tray is manually rotated for discharging the residue into a trap.The trap is removable for disposing of the residue. In anotherembodiment the blade is fixed and the bowl is adapted to be rotated sothat the blade scrapes the bottom wall for discharging the residue intoa trap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top fragmentary plan viewof a brazier according to one preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;. Y

FIG. 3 is a top fragmentary plan view of another preferred embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 5- 5 of FIG.4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawings FIG. 1illustrates generally at 10 one preferred embodiment of a portablebrazier for cooking and barbequing food. Brazier 10 comprises a circularbowl 12 formed into an open-ended upper compartment 14 and a lowercompartment 16 enclosed by bottom wall 18. Bowl 12 is supported by meansof a plurality of upstanding legs 20, 22 mounted below the bottom wall.

The upper and lower bowl compartments are separated by means of a bottomgrill or tray 24 adapted to support the fuel, such as charcoal coals orbriquets 26. The bowl wall of the lower compartment may be provided withsuitable openings, such as slots, inwardly punched holes, or manuallyadjustable valves, not shown, to supply air for increased ventilationfor burning the fuel. A layer of volcanic rock 28 may be disposedbetween the tray and coals for a protective insulating layer, and tostore or retain the heat energy emitted from the fuel. Tray 24 isconstructed in the preferred embodiment by welding together a pluralityof stainless steel wires 30 in a reticulated pattern defining aperturesor slots of a size small enough to retain the volcanic rock and coalsbut large enough to pass through the residue of ash, grease and foodparticles. An annular, upstanding wall 32 of stainless steel wireconstruction is secured to the outer rim of tray 24 to retain the coalsand vol canic rock. Tray 24 is mounted for rotation about a verticalaxis by means of central bushing 34 which is removably and rotatablymounted on a domed lift pin guide 36. Lift pin guide 36 in turn ismounted by means such as welding to bottom wall 18.

A top grill 38 for holding the food is constructed of a plurality ofstainless steel wires 40 welded together in spaced apart relationship.This grill is releasably mounted in upper compartment 14 in verticallyspaced relationship above the tray 24 and the layers/0f coals and rock.A central lift pin 42 is mounted in depending relationship below the topgrill by means of bracket 44. Lift pin 42 extends through a centralaperture in tray bushing 34, an aperture 46 in lift pin guide 36, andaperture 48 in bottom wall 18. Top grill 38 is supported for verticaladjustment by means of a conventional lifting mechanism 50. This liftingmechanism comprises a lift tongue 52 pivotally mounted at one end to aU-shaped bracket 54 depending from bowl wall 18. Tongue 52 is adapted toreleasably support at its other end the lower end of lift pin 42. A liftcrank 56 is threadably mounted in bracket 54 for manual turningadjustment to pivot the lift tongue which in turn raises or lowers grill38. Grill 38 is completely removed from the bowl for cleaning by liftingon a pair of diametrically positioned lift handles 58 so that lift pin42 slides freely from the lifting mechanism, bowl and tray.

Residue scraper blade means including a blade element 60 is mounted independing relationship below tray 24. The blade element could alsoextend outwardly from tray bushing 34, as desired. Blade 60 comprises ametal plate having a lower edge 62 in closed-space relationship with theinner surface of bowl wall 18. This blade edge is formed with aninclined outer end to conform with the radial contour of the bowl bottomwall. The blade defines an arcuate shape in plan view with its lateralsides diverging forwardly in a direction of tray rotation, for examplethe illustrated counterclockwise direction, so that the scraping actionduring rotation of the tray in this direction tends to urge the ash andgrease residue toward the center of the blade. At least one handle 63may be mounted to the tray rim to assist in manual rotation of the tray.An opening 64 is formed in the bowl bottom wall to receive the residuemoved across the wall by the scraper blade. While a circular opening isshown, it is understood that a rectangular orsquare configuration may beprovided, as desired. A frusto-conical funnel 66 is mounted belowopening 64 with its upper edge flush with bowl bottom wall 18 to affordunimpeded movement of the scraper blade. A removable trap 68 comprisingan open-ended container is mounted in material receiving relationshipbelow the open end of funnel 66. A bayonet type mounting arrangementsuch as the illustrated right-angle funnel slot 70 and cooperating trappin 72 is provided to permit rapid mounting and dismounting of the trap.

The use and operation of the embodiment of brazier is as follows. Withtop grill 38 removed a layer of charcoal briquets 26 is deposited ontray 24 and ignited in the usual manner. As desired a layer of volcanicrock 28 may first be deposited on bottom grill 24 with the charcoalbriquets in turn deposited over the rock to provide a layer ofinsulation between the hot coals and the tray wire. Top grill 38 is thenpositioned by inserting its lift pin 42 through the tray bushingaperture, lift pin guide 36 and bottom wall aperture 48 for support onthe lift tongue of lifting mechanism 50. With the desired fooddistributed over the top grill lift crank 56 is adjusted until thedesired vertical spacing of grill 38 with respect to the burning coalsis achieved. With the burning coals held above bowl bottom wall 18 aircirculation upwardly from the lower compartment is created for fasteroxidation of the coals, thus reducing the time required for igniting allcoals, increasing the burning temperature, and reducing the cookingtime. Where brazier 10 is used without the volcanic rock 28 the residueashes and grease or food particles will easily fall through the trayapertures onto the bottom surface of bowl wall 18. Where the volcanicrock is used as an insulating layer tray 24 may be knocked or shaken toknock the ash down through the rock from which it then falls through thetray.

After the food is cooked the residue ash, grease and food particleswhich have fallen onto bowl wall 18 are easily removed by first liftingthe top grill 38 free from the brazier. Tray 24is then manually rotatedcounterclockwise through handles 63 so that blade 60 moves against andscrapes bowl wall 18. The residue moving ahead of blade 60 is directedby the blade curvature toward its center where it falls through opening64 as the blade passes over the opening. The residue dropping throughthe opening is directed into trap 68 by funnel 66. After the trap isfilled with ash and other residue it can be easily emptied by manuallytwisting and unlocking the bayonet connection, dumping the trap, andthen locking it in place again. The brazier is now ready for rechargingwith fresh fuel and replacement of top grill 38 for additional cooking.

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate generally at 70 another preferred embodiment of thebrazier invention comprising a circular bowl 72 adapted to turn relativeto residue scraper means comprising a fixed blade .element 74. In FIG. 3the brazier is shown with its top grill and lower tray removed forpurposes of chari ty.

Bowl 72 is formed into an open-ended upper compartment 76 and a lowercompartment 78 enclosed by bottom wall 80. The bowl is rotatably mountedon a support 82 comprising an upstanding shaft 84 which may be securedto a suitable base frame 86 or mobile support.

A flanged bushing 88 is secured by suitable means such as welding to thebottom of bowl wall 80 in line with a central opening through the bowl.A collar 90 is secured by means such as welding to shaft 84 so that thebowl can be dropped into position by sliding bushing 88 over the end ofshaft 84, with the bushing then resting against the upper surface ofcollar 90 to provide rotatable bearing support for the bowl. Suitablehandles, not shown, may be attached to the bowl to facilitate manualrotation. v

Scraper blade element 74 comprises a metal plate having a lower edge inclose-spaced relationship with the contour of the inner surface of bowlwall 80. As best illustrated in FIG. 3 the blade defines an arcuateshape in plan view with its lateral sides diverging forwardly so thatrotation of the bowl scrapes the ash and grease residue towards thecenter of the blade for removal as trap 91 advances below the blade. Theblade element is secured by means such as welding to a collar 92 whichin turn is mounted to shaft 84 by means of a bolt 94 extending into alateral bore 96 formed in the shaft. The diameter of bore 96 is oversizeto afford vertical play of the blade element with respect to the shaftto insure that the weight of the blade element maintains contact withbowl bottom wall 80.

A circular opening 98 is formed in bowl bottom wall and a frusto-conicalfunnel 100 depends from this opening to direct residue into a removabletrap 91. This trap comprises an open-ended container lockable to thebowl by means of the bayonet type mounting arrangement 104.

A tray 106 define by a plurality of stainless steel wires weldedtogether rests at its outer periphery against the bowl sidewall abovethe blade element. This tray defines apertures or slots of a size smallenough to retain volcanic rock and coals but large enough to passthrough the residue of ash, grease and food particles. The tray iseasily lifted from the bowl for cleaning purposes,

A top grill 108 constructed of a plurality of stainless steel wireswelded together in spaced-apart relationship is mounted above the bowlfor supporting the food above the burning coals. A bracket 110 dependsbelow this grill with a threaded nut 112 secured to the bracket. Thisnut turns onto a threaded shaft 114 which is formed with a reduced lowerend 116 for sliding engagement with a bore 118 formed in the end ofshaft 84. A pin 120 is secured to reduce portion 116 and this pinlockably engages with an end slot 122 formed in shaft 84. This affordsquick assembly and disassembly of grill 108 onto the end of shaft 84.

The use and operation of the embodiment of brazier 70 is as follows.With top grill 108 removed a layer of charcoal briquets, with or withoutan underlying layer of volcanic rock, is deposited on tray 106 andignited. Top grill 108 is then positioned above the coals by insertingthe lower end of shaft 114 into the upper end of shaft 84 with pin. 120locking into slot 122. Food is distributed on the top grill which isturned relative to shaft 114 for adjusting the vertical height above thecoals. The coals are held above the bowl bottom wall to afford upwardair circulation for faster burning and reduced cooking time.

After the food is cooked bowl 72 is turned relative to support 82 sothat fixed blade element 74 scrapes the residue ash, grease and foodparticles from bottom wall 80 into trap 91. When the trap is filled withresidue it is emptied by manually twisting and unlocking the bayonetconnection.

From the foregoing it is apparent that applicant has provided a new andimproved portable brazier. The burning fuel is supported by the tray inspaced relationship above the bowl bottom wall affording increased aircirculation for faster and more complete fuel burning and improvedcooking. The ash, grease and food particle residue drops through thetray onto the bowl bottom wall from which the residue is easily scrapedby merely rotating the tray in one embodiment, or rotating the bowl inthe other embodiment. The trap receiving the residue is easily removablefor convenient dumping. The cleaning steps thus can be performed withoutthe requirement of tipping over or upsetting the bowl and separatelyscraping the bottom surface as is presently necessary with aconventional brazier. Where a layer of volcanic rock is utilized asinsulation between the coals and tray the ash and other residue fallsthrough this rock for subsequent removal as described without foulingthe rock.

While the foregoing embodiments are at present considered to bepreferred it will be understood that numerous modifications andvariations may be made therein by those skilled in the art and it isintended to coverall such modifications and variations as fall withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. A brazier for cooking foods comprising the combination of anopen-ended bowl having a bottom wall, means supporting thebowl with itsopen-end facing upwardly, a tray mounted in the bowl to separate thebowl into upper and lower compartments, the tray being formed with aplurality of apertures sized to retain fuel elements in the uppercompartment and to pass residue particles downwardly into the lowercompartment, scraper blade means mounted in the lower compartment and inclose-space, scraping relationship with said bowl bottom wall, trapmeans in the lower compartment to receive and trap residue scraped bythe blade means, and a top grill for supporting food, the grill beingmounted in spaced relationship above said tray.

2. A brazier as in claim 1 wherein the bowl is mounted for rotationrelative to said scraper blade means.

3. A brazier as in claim 2 wherein the means supporting the bowlincludes an upstanding shaft, the bowl is formed with a central aperturein which said shaft is slidably received, together with means on theshaft providing rotatable support for the bowl.

4. A brazier as in claim 3 wherein the scraper blade means comprises ablade element secured to said shaft in the lower compartment andconstrained therewith whereby rotation of the bowl provides relativescraping movement between the blade element and the bowl.

5. A brazier as in claim 4 including means providing vertical play ofthe blade element with respect to the shaft to insure scraping contactof the blade element with the bowl.

6. A brazier as in claim 5 wherein the means providing the vertical playcomprises means forming a transverse opening through said shaft in theregion of the lower compartment and means fixed to the blade element andextending into said slot with vertical clearance therewith.

7. A brazier as in claim 3 wherein the top grill includes a threadedshaft and means releasably mounting the lower end of said threaded shaftwith said upstanding shaft, and means mounting the grill to the threadedshaft to afford vertical adjustment of the top grill upon rotationthereof relative to the threaded shaft.

8. A brazier as in claim 1 including means mounting the scraper blademeans for rotation with respect to the bowl to scrape the residue intothe trap.

9. A brazier as in claim 8 in which the tray is rotatably mounted in thebowl and the scraper blade means comprises a scraper element mounted forrotation with the tray whereby rotation of the tray moves the bladeelement relative to the bowl for scraping the residue into the trap.

10. A brazier as in claim 9 which includes at least one handle mountedon the tray and extending upwardly therefrom to facilitate manualgrasping thereof for rotating the tray and blade means.

11. A brazier as in claim 9 wherein the scraper blade means comprises atleast one downwardly projecting, radially extending blade elementmounted to the underside of the tray, the blade element having a loweredge disposed in close-spaced relationship with the radial contour ofthe bowl bottom wall.

12. A brazier as in claim 1 wherein said tray comprises a reticulatedgrid of wire secured together in spaced relationship to define saidapertures, together with an upstanding wall at the outer periphery ofsaid tray for retaining the fuel in the tray.

13. A brazier as in claim 1 wherein said scraper blade means comprises ablade element defining an arcuate plan configuration with its lateralsides diverging forward in the direction of rotation relative to saidtray to urge the scraped residue material from the blade element sidestoward the blade center.

14. A brazier as in claim 1 wherein the trap means comprises an openingin the bowl bottom wall in registry with the path of relative travel ofsaid blade means together with residue receiving means positioned belowsaid opening.

15. A brazier as in claim 14 wherein said residue receiving meanscomprises a residue container together with means for releasably lockingsaid container to said bowl bottom wall in material receivingrelationship with said opening.

1. A brazier for cooking foods comprising the combination of anopen-ended bowl having a bottom wall, means supporting the bowl with itsopen-end facing upwardly, a tray mounted in the bowl to separate thebowl into upper and lower compartments, the tray being formed with aplurality of apertures sized to retain fuel elements in the uppercompartment and to pass residue particles downwardly into the lowercompartment, scraper blade means mounted in the lower compartment and inclose-space, scraping relationship with said bowl bottom wall, trapmeans in the lower compartment to receive and trap residue scraped bythe blade means, and a top grill for supporting food, the grill beingmounted in spaced relationship above said tray.
 2. A brazier as in claim1 wherein the bowl is mounted for rotation relative to said scraperblade means.
 3. A brazier as in claim 2 wherein the means supporting thebowl includes an upstanding shaft, the bowl is formed with a centralaperture in which said shaft is slidably received, together with meanson the shaft providing rotatable support for the bowl.
 4. A brazier asin claim 3 wherein the scraper blade means comprises a blade elementsecured to said shaft in the lower compartment and constrained therewithwhereby rotation of the bowl provides relative scraping movement betweenthe blade element and the bowl.
 5. A brazier as in claim 4 includingmeans providing vertical play of the blade element with respect to theshaft to insure scraping contact of the blade element with the bowl. 6.A brazier as in claim 5 wherein the means providing the vertical playcomprises means forming a transverse opening through said shaft in theregion of the lower compartment and means fixed to the blade element andextending into said slot with vertical clearance therewith.
 7. A brazieras in claim 3 wherein the top grill includes a threaded shaft and meansreleasably mounting the lower end of said threaded shaft with saidupstanding shaft, and means mounting the grill to the threaded shaft toafford vertical adjustment of the top grill upon rotation thereofrelative to the threaded shaft.
 8. A brazier as in claim 1 includingmeans mounting the scraper blade means for rotation with respect to thebowl to scrape the residue into the trap.
 9. A brazier as in claim 8 inwhich the tray is rotatably mounted in the bowl and the scraper blademeans comprises a scraper element mounted for rotation with the traywhereby rotation of the tray moves the blade element relative to thebowl for scraping the residue into the trap.
 10. A brazier as in claiM 9which includes at least one handle mounted on the tray and extendingupwardly therefrom to facilitate manual grasping thereof for rotatingthe tray and blade means.
 11. A brazier as in claim 9 wherein thescraper blade means comprises at least one downwardly projecting,radially extending blade element mounted to the underside of the tray,the blade element having a lower edge disposed in close-spacedrelationship with the radial contour of the bowl bottom wall.
 12. Abrazier as in claim 1 wherein said tray comprises a reticulated grid ofwire secured together in spaced relationship to define said apertures,together with an upstanding wall at the outer periphery of said tray forretaining the fuel in the tray.
 13. A brazier as in claim 1 wherein saidscraper blade means comprises a blade element defining an arcuate planconfiguration with its lateral sides diverging forward in the directionof rotation relative to said tray to urge the scraped residue materialfrom the blade element sides toward the blade center.
 14. A brazier asin claim 1 wherein the trap means comprises an opening in the bowlbottom wall in registry with the path of relative travel of said blademeans together with residue receiving means positioned below saidopening.
 15. A brazier as in claim 14 wherein said residue receivingmeans comprises a residue container together with means for releasablylocking said container to said bowl bottom wall in material receivingrelationship with said opening.